Portland and Multnomah County are facing budget crises that threaten the progress Mayor Keith Wilson believes the city has made since he took office in January 2025.
The City Council and Multnomah County Commission must eliminate shortfalls totaling $265 million before their next fiscal year budgets take effect on July 1. On the chopping block is funding for homeless shelters, the Portland Police Bureau, and the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office that have helped reduce outdoor camping and crime, two accomplishments Wilson touted during his second annual State of the City speech on April 17.
“The stakes are high. This year, our budget must stretch farther, carry more weight, and bridge a deeper chasm,” Wilson said when he released his proposed budget three days later.
To help close a $172 budget gap, Wilson proposed keeping the approximately $30 million-a-year the city has been paying to Multnomah County for homeless services. Although Wilson has made opening new overnight homeless shelters a top priority, he announced a controversial 200-bed facility in the Pearl District will close to save money.
Wilson’s proposed budget would also reduce funding for unarmed Portland Police Bureau staffers who support sworn personnel, even though no officer positions would be eliminated. And it would reduce funding for the Bureau of Emergency Communications, which handles 911 calls, prompting pushback from the police union.
“Portland’s public safety system is at a breaking point, and these cuts to PPB and BOEC will do generational damage. There is nothing left to cut without harming emergency response, victim services, and the most vulnerable. We look forward to hearing how City Hall and Bureau leaders will fulfill their core duty to protect the public without balancing the budget on the backs of the systems and people Portlanders rely on in a crisis,” said Sgt. Aaron Schmautz, Portland Police Association president.
One crisis that has been avoided is the closure of Portland Parks & Recreation facilities, which was threatened when the current budget was approved last year. Portland voters subsequently approved a five-year PP&R operating levy in November 2025 that should keep all parks and community centers open. Wheeler’s proposed budget would reduce hours and services, however.
District 2 councilors respond
The 12-member City Council that also took office in January 2025 is not required to approve the proposed budget, however. In the past, some of the six progressive members tried to reduce police and shelter funding, even though they largely failed.
During an April 21 community meeting, District 2 Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney largely supported the proposed budget, with some reservations.
“I think the mayor did a very good job at protecting key services,” said the N/NE councilor, who nevertheless expressed mixed feelings at Wilson’s recommendation using $27 million in interest income from Portland Clean Energy Fund to plug budget gaps. “It’s not ideal, but I don’t know where else we could cut $27 million in services.”
District 2 Councilor Dan Ryan also mostly praised Wilson for maintaining basic services.
“Unlike the City Council, the Mayor is elected by the entire city—accountable to every single Portlander across all four districts. Once again, Mayor Wilson has read the room with his budget’s focus on safety and cleanliness: for our streets, sidewalks, bike paths, and parks. Let’s come together as Portlanders and pass this budget,” the N/NE councilor said in a Facebook post.
District 2 Councilor Sameer Kanal also offered qualified support.
“I’m gratified to see that no fire stations or community centers are slated for closure—priorities which I’ve stated repeatedly and which I’m glad Mayor Wilson listened to. And it’s good to see that in general there was a scalpel approach to reductions, rather than a hatchet,” Kanal said.
“We have more to do to support community safety and showing through our budgets that programs like Ceasefire and CHAT (Community Health Assess and Treat) are core public safety services. I would also like to see us move away from cuts that save a little money in the short term but cost us more in the long term.
Kanal also supports Wilson’s recommendation to create a new PP&R position to seek private partnerships. “I support exploring any potential avenue to expand North Portlanders’ access to pools and to swim lessons, which are an important safety measure, he said. Kanal added that the position could also support infrastructure such as the Kenton Firehouse.
Multnomah County also challenged
The week before Wilson released his proposed budget. Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson released hers for the next fiscal year. It aims to close a $93.2 million shortfall. Among other things, Vega Pederson’s proposal would eliminate more than 600 homeless beds and cut the DA’s budget by 5% and the Department of Community Justice by 3%.
District Attorney Nathan Vasquez pushed back against the cut to his office, arguing that it will decrease public safety. He said it would “endanger all of the gains we made this past year,” pointing to a recent report from his office that showed five-year lows in homicides, burglaries and motor vehicle theft, along with five-year highs in prosecution and conviction rates.
“This number will represent the single largest defunding of the District Attorney’s Office in the history of Multnomah County,” Vasquez said.
Like the City Council, the Board of Commissioners can change Vega Pederson’s proposed budget before adopting it.
The public can weigh in on both budgets before they are set to be adopted in early June.
A Portland District 2 listening session is scheduled from 6 to 8 pm on May 4 at the University of Oregon Portland Campus Center Event Hall, 2823 NE Holman St. The full City Council will take testimony at a hearing from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm on May 19 at City Hall, 1221 SW 4th Ave.
More information on the Portland budget process can be found at here.
Three County Commission hearings are scheduled from 6 to 8 pm on April 29, May 13, and May 20 at the Multnomah Building, 501 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
More information on the Multnomah County budget process can be found here.